The Class ending explained

What happens

Souleymane is expelled after the disciplinary council. When François asks what they learned this year, one girl says nothing, another that she has been reading Plato on her own. The year ends unresolved.

The last image

The classroom is empty after the final lesson, the chairs and desks left behind.

What it says

There is no tidy lesson, because school work is never finished. Good intentions did not save Souleymane, and the students' answers point in opposite directions. The empty room leaves you to judge whether the year succeeded.